Device for exterminating rats



March 13, 1945. J, coATEs DEVICE FOR EXTERMINATING RATS, ETC

Filed Sept. 30, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A 5 m. a w m m w M m I J a m w w aw n INVENTOR. PORTER J. Con TES fi H L' IT I A I TOPNEYS March 13, 1945:P. J. coATEs DEVICE FOR EXTERMINATING RATS, ETC

Filed Sept. 30, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 13, 1945 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE DEVICE FOR EXTERMINATING RATS, ETC.

7 Porter J. Coates, Cleveland, Ohio Application September 30, 1943,Serial No. 504,464 Claims. ((01. 43-147) This invention relates a meansfor exterminating such pests as rats, mice, cockroaches etc. because oftheir damage to rugs, silks and other fabrics and furnishings. v V

Such damage is suffered especially in the sales rooms, show rooms andware houses of large establishments that handle this line ofmerchandise; and, as will be quite obvious, valuable merchandise of thischaracter may suffer irreparable damage from such cause in a very shorttime unless there be taken some precautionary measure against the same.

, The old use of traps on such a large scale is considered not to be atall feasible or practical for this purpose; and it involves too muchlabor to manually distribute poison at suitable points about the roomsthat are infested by such pests.

Also, it should be observed that, in spite of modern-day manner ofconstruction, these pests do find their way into practically allbuildings that might attract them. p

7 Therefore, it is the object of this invention to devise a system thatcan be installed in a store building or the like for the purpose ofdistributing a powder form of poison to suitable points about the roomor rooms of the building, and by which such distribution may be effectedfrom one central point, as for instance the basement of the buildingwhere the operating means therefor is installed.

A more specific object is to devise such a system in which compressedair may be employed for forcing the powder form of poison through thesame and in which there is provision to ensure equally efiectivedischarge of the poison at all points throughout the system.

Another object is to providesuch a system with means for selecting anyone room at a time for distribution of the powder poison thereto and tothe exclusion of all other rooms at that particular time.

Another object is to provide such a system with its parts so constructedand arranged that it may be operated in such manner as to keep the samein practically clean condition at all times.

-A-further object is to devise "such a system that can be manufacturedand sold as a selfcontained equipment capable of installation in eithera building that is already completed or one that is in process ofconstruction, without requiring any alteration in the plan of thebuilding itself.

Other objects will appear from the following description and claims whenconsidered together with the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic vertical view of my system;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal view of a part thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the discharge outlets on one floor;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the means for establishing deliveryconnection to any one floor.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the closure for the butt end of atransverse pipe Ill; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged View of the discharge outlets on the severalfloors.

. It is to be undertstood that the present form of disclosure is merelyfor the purpose of illustration and that there might be devised variousmodifications thereof without departing from the spirit of my presentinvention as herein set forth and claimed.

Briefly, my invention contemplates the distribution of a, poison inpowder form about the several floors of a store building or the like,this being accomplished by means of a system of pipes which extend fromthe basement to the several floors and through which the powder isforced by compressed air from the basement.

Experience indicates that rats, mice etc. as a rule are found only uponthe first three floors of a building and accordingly it may not benecessary to extend this system to any higher floor although there is nolimitation in this respect.

According to the present form of invention, the poison will bedistributed to only one floor at a time, and I have provided means forestablishing such delivery connection from the basement to any ne floorto the exclusion of the other floors at that time. This selectiveregulating means is manipulated from the basement.

In the basement I have provided a conventional air compressor I whichwill store compressed air in a conventional tank 2 for delivery throughthe connecting pipe 3 to the upright pipe 4. The supply of compressedair to the pipe ,4 may be controlled by means of the hand valve 5.

The cylindrical drum 6 contains the supply of poison powder and itsgravity flow to the transverse pipe 3 may be controlled by the handvalve" 1. The bottom part of the drum 6 is of conical form so as toaccommodate a rotary agitator 8 that is of like form and is operatableby a small electric motor 9. may be regulated bya conventional handswitch and in this way the flow of the powder may be ensured during theoperation of the system, it being understood that this agitator may beused The operation of this motor at all times that the distributingsystem is employed.

Then, with the powder supplied to the transverse pipe 3 and in the pathof the compressed air, this powder may be forced up through the pipe 4to any one of the several floors of the store or other building in whichthis system is installed.

The pipe 4 extends up through the floors of the building to the heightdesired and is closed at its upper end, that is at the point of theupper-most floor to be served by this system.

Each of the several floors of the building is provided with a transversepipe I!) which has means of connection with the upright pipe 4 and whichextends about the base board of the room or rooms on that floor, thistransverse pipe l being elevated a suitable distance above the floor soas not to interfere with the access of the rats or mice to the powderupon the floor. The upright pipe 4 may enter a room at one side of adoor D and the pipe in may terminate at the other side of the same door,as indicated in Fig. 2. At suitable intervals along each transverse pipe10, that is to say one or two feet, there are a number of downwardlyextending discharge pipes II which have screw-threaded engagement so asto be rotatably adjustable for proper positioning in the pipe I0. Thesedischarge pipes are all completely open at their lower ends and haveupper openings ['2 that are so located as to receive the powder as it isforced through the pipe l0 and to discharge the same onto the floor inmall piles therebelow. That portion of each discharge tube that extendsupwardly within the pipe 10, serves as a means for deflecting ordirecting a portion of the powdered material downwardly through thedischarge tube and onto the floor of the room.

The sizes of the openings l2 in the succession of discharge pipes H, andthe capacity of the powder-deflecting means, increase in directaccordance with the distance from the source of the compressed air,thereby ensuring substantially equal distribution of the powder at allopenings in these pipes on any one floor.

In all instances, it is to be understood that the force of thecompressed air will be sufficientonly to ensure the deposit of thepowder in small piles upon the floor at the points below the dischargepipes H. I

For the purpose of selectively establishing connection between theupright pipe 4 and the transverse pipe In on any one 'floor, I haveprovided a pivoted valve 13 to control this connection in each instance.That is, at each floor the valve 13 is so mounted within the pipeconnection that it can be adjusted to close the passage through theupright pipe 4 and at the same time open the passage into the transversepipe l'0 for that particular floor. By having the pipes 4 and IU of thesame size, this simple arrangement is made possible, although there maybe adopted any other suitable form of means for this purpose. Each valve[3 has a crank or lever l3a extending outside from is pivot point and arod l4 extends therefrom to the basement for manipulation.

Thus it will be seen that by means of the rods [4 any one of thetransverse pipes l0 may be connected with the upright pipe 4 to theexclusion of the other transverse pipes Ill, the idea being to serviceone floor at a time. When all of the floors have been serviced, that isto say when each floor has been supplied with the desired amount of thepoison powder'in suitable piles about the region of the base board, thevale will first be closed so as to ensure that all of the powder isdischarged from the system and then the valve 5 will be closed so as todiscontinue the air pressure through the system.

The transverse pipe II], on each floor, terminates in a butt end whichhas a readily removable closure I5 topermit periodic cleaning out of anyof the powder that might have collected at these points.

Throughout the entire system of pipes, all corners are rounded so as tofacilitate the passage of the powder without danger of accumulating atsuch points.

The pipe used in my system may be of standard size, let us say 1 or 1inches, and some of the other parts may be of conventional form. All ofthis equipment may be assembled and sold together and installed withoutany particular difficulty.

In case there should be more than one room to be serviced on any onefloor, the horizontal pipe I0 may be extended through the wall betweenthe two rooms.

This entire system can be operated and controlled from the basement andit eliminates the labor involved heretofore in distributing thepoison byhand. Thus I have devised a systematic method of distributing the poisonfor the extermination of the rats, mice etc., with the consequentelimination of .the damage that often results.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, a container for holding a supply of powderedmaterial, a pipe connected to said container for delivery ofthe powderedmaterial, said pipe extending to the space that is intended to receivethe powdered material and being arranged along the bottom part of thewall of such space and elevated above the floor thereof and havingopenings at intervals therealong for discharge of the powdered material,means located within said pipe for directing a portion of the powderedmaterial downwardly through the respective openings onto the floor, andair means for forcing the powdered material through said pipe to saiddischarge openings.

2. In combination, a container for holding a supply of powderedmaterial, a pipe connected to said container for delivery of thepowdered material, said pipe extending to the space that is intended toreceive the powdered material and being arranged along the bottom partof the wall of such space and elevated above the floor thereof andhaving openings at intervals therealong for discharge of the powderedmaterial, means located within said pipe for directing a portion of thepowdered material downwardly through the respective openings onto thefloor, air means for forcing the powdered material through said pipe tosaid discharge openings, a valve for regulating the supply of thepowdered material from said container, and a separate valve vforregulating the operation of said air means, said air valve being locatedrearward of said other valve.

3. In combination, a container-iorholding a supply of powdered material,a pipe connected to said container for delivery of the powderedmaterial, saidpipeextending to the spacethat is intended to receive thepowdered material-and being arranged along the bottom part of. the wallof such space and elevated above the floor thereof and having openingsat intervals therealong for discharge of thepowdered material, meanslocated within said pipe for directing a portion of the powderedmaterial downwardly through the respective openings onto the floor, andair pressure means for forcing the powdered material through said pipeto said discharge openings, said pipe terminating in a butt end andhaving a readily removable closure at the end thereof to permit cleaningout powdered material that may be forced past the discharge openings.

4. In combination, a container for holding a supply of powderedmaterial, a main pipe having means of connection to said container andextending to a room, an auxiliary pipe extending horizontally about thelower part of the room and being connected with said main pipe,discharge tubes for said auxiliary pipe, said auxiliary pipe beingelevated above the floor of the room and having openings leading intosaid discharge tubes, said tubes extending downwardly and terminatingsuitable distance above the floor of the room, said discharge tubes eachhaving a wall extending into the auxiliary pipe to serve as a means fordeflecting a portion of the powdered material downwardly through therespective openings onto the floor, and air pressure means for forcingthe powdered material through said pipes and discharge tubes, the heightof the deflecting walls of the discharge tubes increasing in directaccordance with their distance from the point of entry of the powderedmaterial into the auxiliary pipe.

5. In combination, a container for holding a supply of powderedmaterial, a main pipe having means of connection to said container, saidmain pipe extending to a plurality of rooms, an auxiliary pipe extendingabout the lower part of each of said rooms and having means ofconnection with said main pipe, valve means for establishing connectionbetween said main pipe and the auxiliary pipe of any one room to theexclusion of the other rooms, said auxiliary pipe in each instance beingelevated above the floor of the room and having openings for dischargingthe powdered material onto the floor of the room, means located withineach of said auxiliary pipes for directing a portion of the powderedmaterial downwardly through the respective openings onto the floor, andair pressure means for forcing the powdered material through said pipes.

6. In combination, a container for holding a supply of powderedmaterial, a main pipe having means of connection to said container andextending to a plurality of rooms, a horizontally disposed auxiliarypipe extending about the lower part of each of said rooms andhavingmeans of connection with said main pipe, valve means for establishingconnection between said main pipe and the auxiliary pipe in any one ofthe rooms to the exclusion of the other rooms, said auxiliary pipe ineach instance being elevated above the floor of the room and havingopenings for dis-' charging a portion of the powdered material onto thefloor of the room, means located within each of said auxiliary pipes fordirecting a portion of the powdered material downwardly through therespective openings onto the floor, air pressure means for'iorcing thepowdered material through said pipes, valve means for regulating theflow of the powdered material from said container,

and valve means for regulating said air pressure means, all of saidvalve means being capable of manipulation from the same region.

-7. In combination, a container for holding a supply ofpowderedmaterial, a main pipe having means of connection to saidcontainer. andextending to a plurality of rooms, a horizontally disposed auxiliarypipe extending about the lower part of each of said rooms and havingmeans of connection with said main pipe, valve means for establishingconnection between said main pipe and the auxiliary pipe in any one ofthe rooms to the exclusion of the other rooms, said horizontal pipe ineach instance being elevated above the floor of the room, downwardlyextending discharge tubes connected to each of said auxiliary pipes andterminating a suitable distance above the floor of the room, each ofsaid discharge tubes having a wall portion extending upwardly into theauxiliary pipe for deflecting a portion of the powdered materialdownwardly through said discharge tubes onto the floor, the height ofthe deflecting wall portions increasing in direct accordance with theirdistance from the point of entry of the powdered material into theauxiliary pipe, air pressure means for forcing the powdered materialthrough said pipes, valve means for regulating the flow of the powderedmaterial from said container, and valve means for regulating said airpressure means, all of said valve means being capable of manipulationfrom the same region.

8. In combination, a container for holding a supply of powderedmaterial, a pipe connected to said container for delivery of thematerial contained therein, said pipe extending to the space that isintended to receive the powdered material and being arranged along thebottom part of the wall of such space and elevated above the floorthereof and having openings at intervals therealong for discharge of thepowdered material in piles upon the floor, air means for forcing thepowdered material through said pipe to said discharge openings, andmeans located within said pipe for deflecting the powdered materialdownwardly out through said openings, said deflecting means increasingin capacity in direct accordance with the distance of the said openingsfrom the source of the air pressure.

9. In combination, a container for holding a supply of powderedmaterial, a pipe connected to said container for delivery of thepowdered material contained therein, said pipe extending to the spacethat is intended to receive the powdered material and being arrangedalong the bottom of the wall of such space and elevated above the floorthereof and having openings at intervals therealong for discharge of thepowdered material in piles upon the floor, air means for forcing thepowdered material through said pipe to the discharge openings, anddeflecting means located within said pipe and at each individual openingfor directing the powdered material downwardly out therethrough, saiddeflecting means increasing in capacity in direct accordance with thedistance of the said openings from the source of the air pressure.

10. In combination, a container for holding a supply of powderedmaterial, a main pipe having connection with said container for deliveryof the powdered material therefrom and extending to a room that is toreceive the powdered material, a horizontally disposed auxiliary pipeextending about the lower part of the room and being connected with saidmain pipe, said auxiliary pipe 4 vs am-1, 11;

being elevated :above the :floor of we mom and having openings at:spaced fintenzals thereaalong, discharge tubes arranged :in saidopenings and extending within .said auxiliary pipe and downwardly to asuitable distance above the :floor ot the room, each rof ,sa-iddischargemuhes having a w.a11-por1;ion extending upwamdly withimsaidmm-W 13i tor deflecting .-a portions! the mow. dened material .downwandlybhnough said 1115- charge .tu and ontothe floor of (she room, and airpnessune :means for towing :the -powdered ma,-

